Not concerned with price, both seem to offer similar levels of grip for what I will be using them for. I am most concerned about road noise, especially while on the highway. I currently have Hankook RS3s that were great but now near the halfway point of their life are starting to howl, in my opinion.

I realize both tires are very new, but hoping a few here have been able to put a few miles on their sets so far.

 

RE-11A wont be in stock until later this month. However, I have the RE-11 which is exactly the same tread pattern (the only thing that really affects noise generated by the tire) and it is the quietest most street friendly tire in the EPS tire category. Since RE-11A is simply a compound change from the RE-11, it should be just as quiet and well mannered (for an EPS tire...which isn't saying much).

No idea on the ZII though, not too many people have those yet.

 

Neither of these tires was designed with low-noise being a high priority. That said, given the performance of their predecessors, I expect the RE-11a to be a tad better with noise over the life of the tire.

 

I have taked to one of the guys here who has driven both of them and he thinks that the ZII is going to be the better handling tire in the dry. The RE11A I think will be better in the wet and better ride quality including noise. We will be testing all of the new Extreme Performance tires sometime in May.
If I can help let me know.

 

If noise is a concern why not look at the Potenza S-04? It should be quieter over a longer lifespan without giving up much (if anything) in real world performance.

 

I just ordered the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11A myself. Supposedly one of the features of the redesign is actually supposed to help increase traction all the way around, wet & dry as well as provide less noise. Seeing the bridgestone chart wheel the only thing that does not seem to have improved in tire life, which at least to me, is not a concern.

 

No. 1 on the batch getting delivered to Connecticut warehouse. Hopefully they will have the re-11a by 3/29. I have a set of rims acting like coffee tables in my living room.

 

Anyone care to comment what kind of mileage you get with extreme performance tires? I have a set of Sumitomo HTR Z3's and am impressed thus far with how long they've lasted thus far (currently at about 20k miles on them) and am curious how something like the ZII or re11a would compare in terms of treadlife. I understand treadlife is largely impacted by track days/etc, but my car is also a daily driver 8+ months out of the year so it'd be nice to not have to buy a new set of tires every year.

 

I have seen a set of star specs go 18,000 miles with 8 track days in there. RE-11s generally last longer than star specs.

 

Looks like 13-15K for rears and 26K for fronts with the Star Specs for me. Only one track day in there. I'm sure there are plenty of prior threads discussing tread life as well.